NSW Gov singles out “dance music” in music festival inquiry submission
The NSW Government has submitted its response to next month’s hearing into the music festival license scheme that Premier Gladys Berejiklian introduced in February.
The revealing ten-page submission admits that the new regulations “do not solve all the issues surrounding drug use at music festivals”.
It was just one of 40 submissions, and the only to recommend that the controversial scheme continues, despite backlash from festival organisers and the wider music industry.
Common themes among the other 39 submissions were abolishing the costly red tape regulations entirely, or at least introducing fundamental changes.
In its submission, the government said that only 11 of 80 NSW-based music festivals were required to apply for a licence under the new scheme.
The NSW Government also admitted that it had looked more closely at high-risk festivals, or “larger music festivals targeted at a younger demographic which include a focus on electronic dance music”.
“This operating environment increases the risk that prohibited substances will be present and will cause a significant, adverse effect, including a drug overdose resulting in hospitalisation or death,” reads the submission.
The new licensing scheme has forced several festivals to apply for a new type of liquor license and was rolled out hastily in response to several drug-related deaths over the 2018-2019 festival season.
Several events including Mountain Sounds and Psyfari cancelled their respective festivals, blaming the exorbitant costs that came with being compliant with the new laws.
More recently, Defqon.1 festival organisers announced that the long-running dance festival was cancelled indefinitely after its venue withdrew support and Bluesfest threatened a move to Queensland.
Several submissions in favour of repealing or relaxing the new scheme came from the City Of Sydney, Live Performance Australia, ARIA, Regional Arts NSW, Music Australia, Harm Reduction Australia, Don’t Kill Live Music, Chugg Entertainment, Unified Music Group and more.
Check out the full list of submissions here, while the inquiry hearing is set for August 13.
The inquiry is running at the same time as a inquest into six drug-related deaths at festivals.